A sense of Adventure

Last night I was watching the TV show Survivor and thought that I need an adventure like that.  The opportunity to move outside my comfort zone and test myself seemed really appealing.  As I thought about it a little more I realised that I am heading on such an adventure in August - to WYD.  Not that I am saying that WYD is a TV game show that eliminates contestants, but it an adventure where you can test yourself in the best possible way.

We live in an era where people get their sense of adventure from extreme sports.  People jump off buildings, climb cliff faces without ropes, ride rapids, ran away from bulls etc etc.  While some of these extreme sports give an adrenaline rush, how much do you learn about yourself? Extreme sports can be about facing our physical fears such as heights, but what about the internal fears that run our daily life? Extreme activities loose the sense of adventure because you don't learn much about yourself as a person.  

An adventure is not just about the extreme but it is about the difficult.  An adventure teaches us about our normal life by showing us something different to our ordinary life.  An adventure has an end goal, an outcome or a prize for the person who successfully finishes the adventure.  Here are three reasons why WYD is an adventure:

1. Different - most adventures take place in a different setting.  There is nothing more different for the pilgrim than to travel to the other side of the world to a country that doesn't speak english as its first language.  WYD pilgrims will experience different customs, different foods and different religious practices.  It will be a great adventure to experience all these differences.  Remember this saying whilst experiencing something for the first time "It is not weird just different".
2. Difficult - the one element that challenges everyone on an adventure is the difficulties.  In fact the difficult times usually make the best stories when you get back home.  The stories from past WYD's about all the difficult experiences are usually the times where people grew the most.  Remember this saying when experiencing some difficulties on pilgrimage "difficult is part of the adventure".
3. Outcome - extreme sports have a desire outcome that helps you get through the pain, travel adventures had a destination that makes the journey worthwhile, weight loss or diet has a desired outcome that makes the exercise worthwhile.  The adventure of WYD is not so much about the outward journey but the internal outcome of walking with God and listening to God whilst on pilgrimage..  When on pilgrimage focus on the outcome of the entire pilgrimage, keep the big picture in mind.  Remember this saying whilst on pilgrimage "God what are you doing in me?"

So lets see WYD as a great adventure, an adventure to discover the best of who we are.

Mark McDonald

Pilgrimage Coordinator